Every NBA team keeps a “superstars who might become available” list on a whiteboard somewhere in the office. That list is speculative — Luka Doncic wasn’t on it and now he’s a Laker — but there tends to be a sense around the league of which All-NBA players might be unhappy and which teams are about to pivot and trade their existing stars.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is at the top of that list. Antetokounmpo is incredibly competitive and while the Bucks won a ring, they have quickly gotten old and the Greek Freek’s own comments have fueled some speculation.
However, his comments to COSMOTE TV (the NBA broadcast partner in Greece) during NBA All-Star weekend shot down the idea he’d ask out. Here is what he said when asked about a possible trade to an up-and-coming team like Detroit, as translated by eurohoops.net (hat tip Bleacher Report).
“At least Luka went from Dallas to LA, why you are sending me to Detroit”, Giannis said with a smile after a comical reaction that included a long “noooooo” and on a more serious note he added: “NBA is business if I got traded I would inform my family and would do my job”.
Asked if he would text his GM asking for a trade, Giannis once more talked about staying with the Bucks: “I don’t think that I would ever text (and ask for a trade), I am not this kind of guy, they would have to kick me out”.
There are two things of note here. First, the Bucks are not going to trade Antetokounmpo unless he asks for one. He is worth too much to the franchise, both on the court and in terms of franchise value. Antetokounmpo packs the Fiserv Forum, he is why people pay for the expensive seats in that building and why sponsors call wanting to be associated with the Bucks. He brings in far more value to the franchise than they can pay him on a max salary (as high as those are getting).
Second, I believe Antetokounmpo in that he doesn’t see himself asking for a trade, that he and his family love Milwaukee, and that he would love to play his entire career for one team. However, the list of players who have said and believed the same thing only to change their minds is longer than the list of…
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